Adam Driver’s Racing Movie With 72% RT Score Gets Torn Apart By VFX Artists: “What Is Going On?”

Summary

• VFX artists Corridor Crew break down the climactic crash scene in
  Ferrari
  and why its effects don’t work.
• The biopic’s crash scene was the subject of division even prior to the Adam Driver-led movie’s release, raising questions of authentically telling a true story with sensitivity versus entertainment.
• Despite the criticism, the crash scene was ultimately true to real life, as the infamous 1957 Mille Miglia ended with an accident that killed nine spectators and the car’s driver.

VFX artists evaluate Ferrari‘s visual effects and have some harsh criticism for one aspect of the crash scene during the 1957 Mille Miglia. Ferrari is a biopic by Michael Mann that followed the life of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) leading up to the summer of 1957, delving into the turbulent life of the automobile manufacturer, whose marriage to Laura Ferrari (Penélope Cruz) began to break down after the tragic loss of their son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari (Gabriel Noto and Edoardo Beraldi). Initially expected to be an Oscars favorite, the movie only garnered generally favorable reviews, but was a box office flop.

The Corridor Crew recently reacted to the brutal crash scene in Ferrari and had some mixed feelings about how well the special effects were orchestrated.

Initially, the trio viewed the scene critically, particularly during the CGI moment when the car unnaturally ricocheted off a telephone pole. One artist commented, “I don’t know what’s happening,” while another poked fun at how the car seemingly had “an extra canon” to allow it to just “fly away” into the air. They concluded the scene had to have been hand-animated, although it’s possible it could’ve been done realistically through physics. However, the trio conceded that the scene where the car plows into spectators realistically captured the car damage and conveyed the brutality of the crash.

Ferrari’s Divisive Car Crash Scene Happened in Real Life

The Corridor Crew’s commentary isn’t the first time Ferrari’s crash scene has earned criticism. Driver once shut down an interviewer who called the crash scene “cheesy,” while critics have continued debating how well the movie handled the tragedy. The visual effects aren’t the only controversial aspect, as films like Ferrari raise questions about whether tragedies that resulted in the loss of life should be recreated for entertainment. Despite criticism over the necessity and realism of the scene, the crash actually happened in real life, and the sequence of events was fairly similar to how the movie depicted it.

In 1957, Alfonso de Portago signed on to race the 1,000-mile road race, the Mille Miglia, driving Ferrari’s 335 S Model. Racing has always been a dangerous sport, but Mille Miglia was particularly risky given that it took place on public roads and put a lot of strain on cars. During the race, de Portago was heading towards the finish at about 150 miles per hour when the car blew a tire. There was no time for him to slow the vehicle, resulting in him striking a curb. As Ferrari depicts, the car actually did go airborne.

The vehicle flew wildly into the air, hitting a telephone pole and careening into a crowd of spectators. It flew so far that the spectators farthest from the road were hit. De Portago and nine spectators were killed in the horrific crash, which put an end to Mille Miglia for good and resulted in Ferrari facing manslaughter charges, of which he was ultimately acquitted. The controversial Ferrari crash scene raises awareness of the dangers of racing, and while it likely could’ve been more realistic, it’s difficult to adapt an accident so horrific it already almost didn’t seem real.

Ferrari is available to stream on Hulu.

Source: Corridor Crew